Some fifteen years ago I started carrying a knapsack on my daily round. At the same time, I decided to wear exclusively climbing gear, which is superior to all other. The knapsack I took to the mountains, too. It quickly became a part of me. Everything I needed was always on my back, leaving my hands free. If I remember well, no-one else carried a knapsack off the mountains back then. By and by, others have discovered the advantages of having everything on their backs. Climbing gear has become popular, too. In fact, it has become part of fashion. And so has the knapsack. Now I see it wherever I turn. Everyone has one. It has become a must, no less. Most of the knapsacks that are popular today are inferior to the ones used for climbing, but they still beat all the alternatives on offer. Most important, they leave hands free. At any rate, I now feel that I have helped promote a fashion that makes some sense at least. Strange bedfellows, fashion and I.